The Australian Business Register (ABR) operated by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) issues the Australian Business Number (ABN) which is a unique 11-digit identifier issued by the Australian Business. It was introduced as a result of major tax reform by John Howard’s Liberal government on the 1st of July, 2000, which included the introduction of a Goods and Services Tax (GST). The law requires that every business entity in Australia has an ABN. The ABN is to appear on each tax invoice and other tax-related documents issued by the entity. The ABNs are issued to legal entities like; an individual, a corporate body, a sole corporation, a political body, a partnership, a trust, or a superannuation fund.
A business entity is qualified as an ABN if its enterprise is in Australia or makes supplies connected with Australia and if it is a company registered under the Corporations Act 2001. The entity must be an enterprise as a form of a business, a religious institution, an arm of government, a superannuation fund, or a charity.
Applying for an ABN
A qualified entity can apply for an ABN through;
- the Australian Business Register portal, https://www.abr.gov.au/ online
- a registered tax agent, or
- applying on paper to the Australian Taxation Office ATO.
Note that an entity must have a tax file number (TFN) before applying for an ABN.
ABN Lookup
ABN Lookup allows a free public view of the information supplied by businesses to the Australian Business Register (ABR) when they register for an Australian Business Number (ABN). The ABN Lookup tools use the ABN Lookup web services and include an ABN lookup and a Name lookup. The ABN tool allows you to do multiple searches using either an Australian Business Number (ABN) or Australian Company Number (ACN). Important note: An ACN is only searchable via ABN Lookup if it is linked to an ABN.
Important note: An ACN is only searchable via ABN Lookup if it is linked to an ABN. This is useful if you know your name but not your ABN. The Advanced ABN Lookup has added search features to allow you to retrieve a list of ABNs that match your criteria such as; ABNs for a selected postcode and ABNs registered for charitable tax concessions
